Southwest Florida trip

[JD in the OC]

I just got back from Ft. Myers, FL this Sunday.  (Derek, my flight through Atlanta was delayed and I had to fly out on Sunday morning)

I had a great time, thanks to Derek, his wife, Jeff Searle, and a few other people.  The weather was great and I probably saw more mature palms in 5 days than I do all year here in Cali!!!

Here's Derek waiting for his foxtails to load up at a nursery on Pine Island

[JD in the OC]

Derek's backyard

[JD in the OC]

His blonde watermelon flame thrower

[JD in the OC]

Sylvestris (I noticed they produce much more slender trunks in FL)

[JD in the OC]

Old Man (Derek's)

[JD in the OC]

One of the largest Coryphas in southwest florida (with Derek for scale)

[JD in the OC]

McGregor Road, where Thomas Edison planted several miles of Roystonea regia COOL!

More pictures to come tonight.  Gotta get some food now  

[paulgila]

amazing corypha!how long did it take to get that big?

looking forward to more pix,jd!

[Jeff Searle]

Justin/Derek,

    It was really nice to meet you guys. I really enjoyed the visit, and you guys know your palms. Hope to see more pics. Derek, that Corypha is sweeeet!!

Jeff

[BigFrond]

Hmmm... I wonder when Derik will fill out his backyard.  I still see too much lawn.  

[paulgila]

its totally "velez-ed",i love it!

[JD in the OC]

A tree Derek found locally, I think its a hyophorbe lagenicaulis x vershaffeltii

[JD in the OC]

Arrived at Jeff's!!

[JD in the OC]

Jeff's amazing Caryota zebrina (one of my favorite palms) WAAAYYY bigger than any I'll ever see in Cali

[JD in the OC]

Jeff's gigantic shade houses (full of rare stuff, most of which is tough to grow in Cali)

[JD in the OC]

Lunchtime at Subway.  By the way, I ran into Peter Griffin out there who is also from Cali and is in the Palm Society of Southern California.  Funny to see you there Peter

[JD in the OC]

After that, Jeff was kind enough to give us a tour of his garden.

Here's Derek checking out the girth on his Carpoxylon

[JD in the OC]

Nice big Dypsis ovobontsira in Jeff's nursery...

though not for sale, as he only had one this size!

[Peter]

Ditto Justin,

small world.  It was nice to hook up with you guys, and also Jeff.   Jeff of course has many cool palms on his property, but I was also very impressed with all the other plant species he has growing-great mix!

[JD in the OC]

Here's Peter walking by one of Jeff's many beccariophoenix (I for one, couldn't stop staring at them)

Beccariophoenix alfredii

Jeff's massive Foxy Lady

[JD in the OC]

variegated Caryota mitis at Jeff's house

Check out the stem... I love it!!

[JD in the OC]

Copernicia in Jeff's garden

I forgot what this was, but Jeff said it was a form with orange petioles

[JD in the OC]

A look at Jeff's gorgeous pool from inside his house

He had a huge beccario and some dypsis around it

More pics to come tomrrow

[Kris]

Dear JD  

very beautiful coverage of the area and those phoenix sylverstes is lovely and the caryopha is fentastic.and

jeffs garden & his home looks great.i wish to know

jeff how you maintain it in such spec and span(Tidy).

thanks JD for the stills and love to see more form those gardens !  

Love,

Kris  

[SubTropicRay]

Nice photos.

[amazon exotics]

Paul, I don't know the exact age of the Corypha, it has been in the ground around 20 years. It has seem many storms. I was told it was one of only a very few in our state at the time of planting. They are much easier to find now.

[JD in the OC]

Derek,

The one package hasn't arrived at my house yet.  Do you know if Lynn has any tracking numbers? (i don't know if the other package arrived at my parents house yet though).

[JD in the OC]

Nevermind Derek, they came in today and plants look great!  Thank Lynn again for me (I'll send her something too).

[paulgila]

thanks derek.it is certainly stunning!

[Palmarum]

JD in the OC · Posted on May 17 2007,01:58

I forgot what this was, but Jeff said it was a form with orange petioles.

Justin,

That favorite palm of mine is Licuala aurantiaca, what I call the golden Licuala. It was great to had met you, Derek, Peter, and his friend Barry on your visit here. Even though I got to the 'party' late, I still managed to meet everyone and get some photos. It is always a great occasion to meet Forum members from all over.

- Jeff Searle clears the way for vistors to walk through his yard, shortly after I arrived. I missed the lunch at Subway, and joined up afterwards. Southern California Forum member Peter Griffith (Peter) walks along side with Jeff's famous bull mastiff Kona tagging along for the tour.

- Forum members Justin (JD in the OC) [left covered by foliage] and Derek Batke (amazon exotics) look over one Dypsis albofarinosa that caught their attention.

- Interesting gazes were created as Justin (JD in the OC), Jeff Searle, and Peter (Peter) look at one species after another.

- Peter's (Peter) friend Barry

, an avid flowering tree collector and enthusiast from right here in South Florida, made a funny comment which made everyone laugh. Everyone was tucked in this one shaded corner of the yard, checking out some of the flowering trees and smaller shade palms.

Ryan

[JD in the OC]

Good to meet you too Ryan, I felt like a celebrity there with you taking all the pictures during the tour

I didn't realize dypsis lutescens could have such turquiose leaves when older.  Here's a shot of a grove of them glistening in the sunlight.  THEY'RE ALMOST SILVER!

[Kris]

Dear Folks  

great coverage of jeffs gardens,ryan you do look great in that

military kind of casuals...and thanks for also covering my

buddy_Kona ! it seems its doing great job in the gardens.

thanks for the coverage,but the desire to see more of those

plant paradise does not seem to fade even a bit !

lots of love,

Kris  

[Palmarum]

krisachar · Posted on May 18 2007,11:22

Dear Folks  

... ryan you do look great in that

military kind of casuals...and thanks for also covering my

buddy_Kona !

Hey Kris, I do not know what you mean by that, but I am only in one photo, one of Justin's in post 20. I am just a bit in the right side.

- One favorite exotic of mine, Cocoloba rugosa, gets quite of bit of attention from everyone. The photo doesn't do it justice, it has very large leaves that are as stiff as cardboard. They feel as if they could support some serious weight.

- Jeff continues the tour, pointing out several smaller species of Dypsis, and various other tropical exotics including his many crotons. One large clump of a Heliconia cultivar can be seen in the back, along with Caryota mitis, a great border palm.

- Justin (JD in the OC) discusses all things Madagascar with Jeff as they stand in front of the Forest Coconut, Voanioala gerardii.

- Barry and Peter make their way through Palm Circle to meet up with everyone.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

- A photo of a palm fanatic in repose. Forum member Derek Batke (amazon exotics) relaxes for a moment in Palm Circle next to a rapidly growing Rainbow Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus deglupta.

- This Dypsis onilahensis var. 'Stiff Leaf Form' became a strongly talked about species during the tour. It seems they are popular in California.

- Justin (JD in the OC) discusses and describes the palm world in California, as we all listen in. I learned quite a bit about it that day.

- After the tour, Peter and his friend Barry had to leave. It was great meeting them, and we all said "Until the next time". Which in the palm world can mean any next meeting, sale, tour, etc. Justin, Derek and Jeff returned to the nursery to continue the tour and do a little browsing.

Ryan

[Palmarum]

The last group of photos from that interesting day. I would like to reiterate how much fun it is to meet fellow palm fanatics from around the country, and the world for that matter. It is a passion as well as a disease at times.

- The Main shadehouse gets perused through more than once by Justin and Derek, with help from a golf cart. They slowly make their way towards the back.

- The Second shadehouse gets visited as well, as Derek and Justin find a few more plants to grab.

- The full sun areas are looked through next, with a few more additions made to the back of the golf cart. They are making their way back to the office as the day is winding down. Jeff drives Justin and Derek back with their plants, as he shows them the Bromeliad House.

Ryan

[SubTropicRay]

I love the Chuck Norris T-shirt.

[Peter]

Thanks for the photos Ryan.  Barry, Adele and I had a great tour and look forward to meeting up with you guys again!

[happ]

(JD in the OC @ May 16 2007,22:53)

QUOTE

Derek's backyard

<img src="http://www.tropigrow.com/Tropigrow pics/ips pics/small dereks yard.jpg" border="0">

Justin

Thanks for the wonderful palm photos.  Another reason to visit fabulous Florida often  

[BS Man about Palms]

Jeff, Ryan or particularly JD!  Is that "Dypsis onilahensis var. 'Stiff Leaf Form' " the "Slick Willie" out here as we know it?

(I'm hoping JD has seen enough to know or compare.) ???   ??  ???   ??

PS- Ryan, It's so nice to see your great new pictures when I get home as opposed to later in the evening... (once they all load)  

[Kris]

Dear Ryan  

Hey iam bit confused who is jeff and who is ryan ? iam confused....

can we all see some stills of you both along with some palms

in the above garden.

it seems all these months i thought jeff for ryan ? No jokes_Iam seroius.

Now who is rayn and who is jeff_ i wish to know.

Kindly put my mind to rest_Dear Friends.

Love,

Kris(India)